answer questions in one paragraph

SWOT Analysis: Chipotle Mexican Grill

Strengths

Chipotle Mexican Grill is as strong as ever. Chipotle has been in business since 1993 and during those 20 plus years has honed its craft, and become an industry leader. The “Food with Integrity” moto is seen in everything Chipotle does, and really one could change it a bit to adapt it to Chipotle as a whole, to being “Business with Integrity.” Not only is the food fresh and of the highest quality, but the packaging, napkins, and bags are all made recycled material, which helps to conserve the environment, which fits into Chipotle’s business model.

One of the reasons that the experience at Chipotle is very consistent across the board is because all the stores are owned by the company. While Franchising could help the company expand faster, it would not be able to maintain as much control over the operations of the individual locations, which could cause inconsistencies in the dining experience that Chipotle wants to offer their current and potential customers.

The fact that Chipotle owns all of their locations also benefits the employees, which in turn benefits the customers, and ultimately the company. This helps Chipotle hire employees which they feel fit into their culture. Also, they have implemented training and development programs for their employees, which has led to an impressive 97% of managers being promoted from hourly positions. Recently Chipotle has even been considering adding a tuition reimbursement program for their employees. By having a pro-employee culture, not only does the customer benefit by, always, having a consistent experience, but so does the company.

Happy employees are more likely to stay with a company than disgruntled employees. Now let’s take a look at The Company’s Weaknesses.

Weaknesses

The internal weaknesses that affect Chipotle are higher priced items, limited menu options, quality employees, and brand recognition. Chipotle’s dedication to “Food with Integrity” risks losing business due to higher priced menu items, made of natural and organic ingredients. People will choose to eat somewhere else if they perceive the price is not worth the value. The limited menu options could cause customers who lack imagination to feel Chipotle doesn’t offer them something they may want. The “Food with Integrity” dedication and limited menu options could cause a loss in sales, when stores have had to sell an item with GMOs. Chipotle’s policy is to always place a warning on items that contain GMOs. In the 2014 Annual Report, Chipotle states, “Our business could be adversely affected by increased labor costs or difficulties in finding the right employees for our restaurants and the right field leaders”. There are clear difficulties in finding employees that Chipotle feels fit the company image. Choosing between quality employees or enough employees to fill each position, potentially puts Chipotle at risk of losing new and existing customs. Chipotle’s brand recognition is primarily in the United States. With over 1700 stores and less than 20 internationally, Chipotle is not yet well-known throughout the global market. Which means there are some Opportunities that we can look at to see where we can improve.

Opportunities

Strengths and opportunity

Strengths are internal factors for the firm. Some of the strengths of the marketing plan are, the marketing manager must be extremely knowledgeable about the third-party marketplace where the business will take place. Scott Keohane understands various operations in the marketplace where those he partners with and do not understand how the market operates. The founder is also personally and financially dedicated to make the business successful. Second, the firm has an active and committed council that assists in monitoring and guidance on the business operations. Thirdly, the business firm has reliable products and product support that keeps the business on operations at all the times. Finally, the firm is a member of Oracle Partner Network that supports the business in case of financial challenges. Opportunities are external factors to the firm. The firm has the opportunity of market expansion and growth as it targets many marketplaces. There is a chance for changing marketplace that coincides with emotion software’s product development and changing technology in its operations and refocus on IT applications. The firm can grow focus on cross-functional interactions in the business press. The function of the business has a move towards employees instead of professionals that would stagnate and delay the achievement progress. Finally, the firm can train the new recruits on how to use computers in decision-making and thus expect companies to have data program in place.

Threats

It is normal for all businesses to face threats. Although, Chipotle maintains its finest ingredients, it is still considered a “fast food” restaurant and many people care more about health and back away from anything that’s considered “fast food.”

Another threat Chipotle may face is competition from other Mexican themed restaurants like Taco Bell and Qdoba. Not only can they face competition from Mexican themed restaurants but they are also facing competition from another “healthy” restaurant, Panera. Panera and Chipotle currently compete since they both claim to have fresh ingredients. A reason why people might choose Panera over Chipotle is not only does Panera have a wider menu of food; Panera also serves a variety of bagels, pastries and drinks such as lattes, teas, coffee, which Chipotle limits its menu to only 7 items on the menu.

Another threat chipotle may face is economic instability. The economy is unpredictable and during recessions people tend to try to save money and look for the cheaper alternatives like cooking at home or even going to McDonalds in order to prevent spending money since chipotle meals can cost, anywhere, between $6 to $15, whereas McDonalds can cost as little as $1.

Another threat Chipotle may face is simply the fact that consumer’s preference changes overtime. Many people may simply just get bored of Mexican food and move on to the next big thing. This will cause a drastic decrease in Chipotle’s profit.

This SWOT analysis should give us a better idea of where our company stands in the market, and what we can do to continue to be a leader and innovator.